Luggage



G. H. WHEARY July 18, 1933.

LUGGAGE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 8, 1930 lNVE/V TOP A7 TORNEV v July 18, 1933. G. H. WHEARY 1,919,082

LUGGAGE Filed Dec. 8, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN TOR Eearge Henry M5551 8V ATTORNEY y 1933- G. H. WHEARY 1,919,082

LUGGAGE Filed Dec. 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 A TTORNE) INVE N TOR 550F575 H5172 M551"; 5? 61W M Patented July 18, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE HENRY WHEAIRY, OF RACINE, WISGONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO WBEABY TRUNK COMPANY, OF RACINE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION 01 WISCONSIN LUGGAGE Application filed December 8, 1930. Serial No. 500,770.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in luggage and refers more particularly to the garment supporting means thereof, and while particularly adapted for ladies hand lugga c, it may also be employed with mens han luggage.

Heretofore, the only practical garment supporting means of ladies hand luggage necessitated that the garments be draped one above the other over a single supporting member. The innermost garments were thus subjected to undue pressure and often badly creased. Also by super-imposing the garments one above the other, none but the outermost was visible and if it were desired to remove one of the lowermost garments from the support, all those above it would have to be removed.

In other words, it is desirable in ladies hand luggage, as in all other types of luggage, that individual hangers be provided for all of the garments carried, but all structures heretofore proposed for this purpose have been impractical. i

With the above and other objections to existing garment supporting means of ladies hand luggage in mind, this invention has as one of its objects to provide a practical garment supporting means having individual hangers for all of the'garments to be carried Another object of this invention resides in the provision of novel means for supporting the individual hangers.

Another objectresides in the provision of means for holding the hangers against displacement from their supporting means, and which means provides an extension support 'upon which the hangers may be placed to facilitate handlin of the garments during packing or unpac 'ng.

And a further object of this invention is to provide anovel garment support of the character described whereby the hanging length for the garments 'is materially increased.

With the above and other objects in view 'parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the herein disclosed invention may-be made as come within the scope of the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated several complete examples of the physical embodiment of my invention constructed according to the best modes I have so far devised for the practical. application of the principles thereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a ladys hand luggage of the case type with the cover open and the garment support in an intermediate position to-facilitate the showing of its structure;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the rear portion of the casing with the garment support in upright pos1tion;

Figure 3 is a side view of the case with portions broken away and in section to' illustrate the manner in which the garments Figure 7 is an enlar ed side elevation of the garmentretaining ar Figure 8 is a transverse sectional view taken through Figure 7 on the plane of the line 8-8;

Figure 9 isa perspective view of another modified form of a arment supporting means shown detached rom the case;

. Figure 10 is a detail sectional view taken through Figurev9, on the plane of the line 10-10; and

Figure 11 is a detail perspective view illustrating a slightly modified hanger construction.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, the numeral 8 represents the main section of a hand luggage case particularly adapted for ladies use and having a cover 9 hingedly connected thereto, as at 10. Latching means 11 for securing the cover closed and comprising. cooperating Y main section and cover carried elements .frame indicated generally by the numeral 17 and mounted soas to be movable into and out of alignment with either the main section or the cover when the case is open.

The supporting frame 17 comprises a air .ofside arms 18hingedly connected at t eir lower ends, as at 19, to mounting members 20 detachably received in sockets 21 secured to the opposite side walls 22 of the main section of the case.

The outer or free ends of the side arms 18 have transversely extending channel shaped hanger supports 23 secured thereto and the supports 23 are rigidly connected by a bar 24. The outer side flanges 25 of the channel shaped hanger supports are of greater depth than the innerflanges 26 and the inner flanges are serrated to provide a plurality of teeth 27 which serve to space hangers 28' adapted to extend across and be supported by the channel shaped supporting members 23. I

The hangers may be of any desired shape or configuration and in the present instance,

being intended particularly for ladies dresses and the like, consist merely of flat strips or bars of suflicient length to span the distance between the supports 23 with the extreme ends thereof abutting the flanges 25.

Hingedly connected, as at 29, to the ends of the hanger supports 23, opposite the members 30. The.

cross bar 24, are lockin locking members 30, li e the supports 23,

have a channel shaped cross section with .their outer side flanges 31 of greater depth than the inner flanges 32 and the inner flanges providedwith a series of teeth 33.

The locking members 30 are adapted to swing over the hanger supports and secure the hangers mounted thereon against displacement, and to hold the locking members 30 in their active positions disposed over the hangers, the ends of the supports opposite the hinged connection 29 are pro- .vided with spring detents 34 which snap over the adjacent free ends of the members 30 as they are moved to their operative positions. The free ends of the members 30 are preferably connected by a transverse bar 35 which enables both locking members 30 to be moved as a unit and cooperates with the cross bar 24 to tie the hanger supports against spreadin It is noted that the inge connections 29 are knuckle joints so that when the lock ing members are swung to their open position as illustrated in Figure 2, they are held against further movement and in longitudinal alignment with the supports 23' to form in efiect extension supports for the hangers to facilitate arrangin and handling of the garments during pac ing and unpacking.

With the garments draped over the hangers and the hangers in their proper positions on the support, the depending portions of the garments extend down into the well '14, and with the locking members 30 positioned over the hangers to secure thev same against displacement, the entire garment supporting frame may be moved as a unit into and out of alignment with either the. main section or the cover when the case is open. When the frame is disposed over the main section, as illustrated in Figure 3, the garments are held against dropping into the compartment 15 by a bar 37 having one end hingedly connected, as at 40, with an extension 39 secured to one of the side arms 18 and removably connected, as at 38 with a similar-extension 39, secured to the other side arm.

The detailed construction of the connections 38 and '40 is shown in Figures 7 and 8. The releasable connection 38 consists merely of a. hook element stamped from bendable metal and suitably secured to the end of the bar 37, but the hinged connection 40 comprises a member 51 stamped from bendable metal and having its inner end providedwith side arms 52 which are clinched over the adjacent end portion of the bar. Outwardly of the side arms 52, the member 51 has its side edges turned inwardly as at 53 to provide channel guide means to slidably mount a cooperating member 54 the outer end of which is passed through a suitable opening in the adjacent extension 39 and curled over to hingedly connect thesame with the extension. Both members 51 and 54 have longitudinal and o posite central depressions. 55 which togetli pansive spring 56 confined between instruck lips 57 and '58 carried respectively by the members 51 and 54, so that the spring yieldably maintains the element 54 in its innermost position and provides a spring tension for the hook connection 38 to prevent its accidental detachment.

Inasmuch as. only a single garment is er form a housing for an exdraped over each hanger, the outer free end of the supporting frame may be close to the front wall 41 of the case. This permits a maximum length for the side arms 18 with the consequent result that the hanging length for the garments, which is the distance from the hangers to the bottom of the well 14, is increased, which obviously is a desirable feature.

As hereinbefore brought out, the locking members are connected by a transverse bar to tie the same against spreading when swung to their open positions in which they form extension supports, but if desired the bar 35 may be omitted so that each looking member may be moved separately. In thiscase, the ends of the hangers are provided with transverse extensions 36 which engage behind the teeth of the extension supports and thus prevent spreading, see Figure 11.

In Figures 4, .5, and 6 a slightly modified embodiment of this invention is illustrated and in this instance the hanger supports 23 of the arment supporting frame, are of simplified construction and do not have 'their inner flanges serrated. However, as

before, the outer flanges 25' are of greater height than the inner flanges 26 and a bar 24' connects the inner ends of the hanger supports and secures the same against spreading.

The outer ends of the supports also have extension members 30' hingedly connected thereto as at 29, which when extended, as illustrated in Figure 4, form substantially upper edges of the support inner flanges in alignment with the upper edges of the extension member inner flanges 32'.

Thehinged connection between the hanger supports and the extension members, as best illustrated in .Figure 5, is formed by offsetting the inner ends of the extension members, as at48, to overlie the adjacent endportions of the supports, so that both inner and outer flanges of the extension".

members and thesupports are in common planes.

It is noted that both flanges of the ex tension members are of equal height and that the offset portions 48 are of greater height. The hinged connection 29" is thus so located that when the extension members are swung over the hanger su ports, the edges of their outer flanges 31 will just engage the edges of the support outer flanges 25, an .the edges of their inner flanges will be spaced from the adjacent edges of the support inner flanges to receive'hooks "49 carried at the ends of the hangers 28 and secure the. hangers against displacement.

The hanger carried hooks 49 are formed of bendable metal and have substantially cap shaped portions 50 which are engaged over the ends of the hangers and there secured by tangs 50.

bar 37 is mounted directly from the side,

arms 18 as shown in Figure 4.

-In some instances it may be desirable'to omit the locking extension members. The hangers are then held against displacement .by means of a fabric curtain or covering 42,

one end 43 of which is fixedly connected with the adjacent ends of transverse bars 44 secured to the inner portions of the side arms 18' as illustrated in- Figure 9. The intermediate portion of the curtain or covering extends over the hangers and is drawn down on the other side thereof to have its other end 44' removably connected with the opposite ends. of the transverse bars 44 in any suitable manner. The coveringor curtain thus not only holds the hangers against displacement, but also affords a protection for the garments and obviates the necessity for the bar 37, as will be readily apparent.

It is, of course, desirable that the curtain or covering be maintained taut and to this end the connection between its end 43 and the transverse bars 44-embodies a spring structure illustrated in detail in continuations of the supports with the' Figure 10. This structure consists of a metal housing or casing 45 mounted on each end of a bar 43 which is secured to the end 43 of the curtain and in which a hook element 46is slidably received. An expansive spring. 47

confined between one wall of the casing 45 i and a portion of the hook element normally yieldably restrains relative movement between the hook member and the casing, and v as the hook. members at the opposite ends of the'bar 43' are fixedly connected with the transverse bars the drawing of the curtain over the hangers places the springs 47 in compression.

From the foregoingdescription, taken in connection with it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the artto which an invention of the char acter described appertains, that I provide a novel and improved garment supporting means particularly adapted for ladies hand luggage, and wherein greater accessibility to the garments is afforded to facilitate hane dling during packing and unpacking and enable all garments to be exposed to View.

What I claim as my invention is: 1. A garment carrying case comprising hingedly connectedsections, each constituted of rigidly connected walls, a garment carrythe accompanying drawings,

ing unit mounted for pivotal movement in the case, said garment carrying unit including spacedhanger supports at the outer free end thereof, hangers engageable at their 5 ends with said supports and adapted to have garments draped thereover, and members hingedly connected with said supports and movable over the hanger supports to secure the hangers between the hanger supports and said members.

2. A garment carrying case comprising hingedly connected sections, each constituted of rigidly c'onnected walls, a pair of spaced arms lying in substantially a common plane and connected at their outer end portions, means hingedly mounting the inner ends of the arms in the case for movement aboutan axis adjacent and parallel to said hinged connection of the sections, hanger supports carried by the outer free ends of the spaced arms, hangers engageable at their ends with the supports and adapted to have garments draped thereover, means for removably securing the hangers against displacement from said supports, and means for holding garments draped over the hangers substantially parallel with the plane of the spaced arms, whereby the garments may be moved to and from a position aligned with either of said hingedlyconnected sections when the case is open.

3. A garment carrying case comprising hingedly connected sections, each constituted of rigidly connected walls, a garment carrying frame hinged in the case, said frame including side members, garments supports at the outer free ends of the side members, hangers adapted to have garments draped thereover, means at the ends of the hangers and engageable with the hanger supports to mount the hangers and prevent spreading of the supports, extension members pivotally connected with the hanger supports and adapted to be moved between positions disposed over the hangers to secure the same against displacement and in substantial alignment with the supports to form extensions thereof, and means connecting the outer free ends of the extension members.

4. A garment carrying case comprising hingedly connected sections, each constitued of rigidly connected walls, a pair of spaced arms lying in substantially a common plane, means hingedly mounting the inner ends of the spaced arms in the case for movement about an axis adjacent and parallel to said hinged connection of the sections, means at the outer ends of the spaced arms for readily removably supporting a plurality of individual hangers adapted to have garments draped thereover, and means connecting the spaced arms for maintaining the garments in substantially the plane of the spaced arms, said last mentioned means comprising a bar swingingly connected with ends of the side arms andadapted to have garments folded thereover, said frame being of such dimensions that when the case is closed the garment carriers lie adjacent the sides of the sections opposite the hinged connection, and a cover extending over the garment carriers to protect garments folded thereover.

6. In a garment carrying case comprising hingedly connected sections each constituted of rigidly connected walls, a garment carrying unit mounted for pivotal movement in the case and comprising side members, hanger supports on the side members, hangers engageable at their endswith the supports and adapted to have garments draped thereover, and members connected with the supports and adapted to be moved from a position overlying the supports to confine the hanger endsbetween the supports and said members to a position forming substantially continuations of the supports and vice versa.

7 In a garment carrying case comprising hingedly connected sections each constituted of rigidly connected walls, a garment carrying frame hinged in the case and comprising side arms lying in substantially a common plane, hanger supports on the side arms and extending to opposite sides of said common plane, hangers engageable at their ends with the supports and adapted to have garments draped thereover, and means removably securing the hangers on said supports.

8. A garment carrying case comprising hingedly connected sections, each constituted of rigidly connected walls, a garment carrying frame hinged in the case on an axis adjacent and parallel to said hinged connection of the sections, said frame including side members, means at the outer ends of the side members for readily removably supporting a plurality of individual hangers adapted to have garments draped thereover, and means connecting the side arms for maintaining the garments in substantially the plane of the frame, said last mentioned means comprising a bar adapted to span the distance between the side arms, means at one end of the bar for swingingly connecting it with one side arm, means at the other end of the bar for removably connecting it with the other side arms, and yieldable means for preventing .55 the outer free ends oi accidental detachment of said last mentioned connection.

9. In luggage of the character described,

a garment supporting frame movably mounted and comprising spaced side members, hanger supports carried by the side members, hangers engageable at their ends with the supports and adapted to have garments draped thereover, a curtain engageable over the hangers to protect garments draped thereover, and means for mounting the curtain including members extended from the side members and substantiall parallel with the hanger supports, to whic the ends of the curtain are attached. 1

10. In a garment carryingcase including hingedly connected sections,- a garment carrying frame comprising spaced side arms connected at their outer ends, means hingedly mounting the inner ends of the side arms from one section, hanger supports at theouter free ends of the side arms and extending substantially perpendicular to said side arms, hangers engageable at their'ends with 26 said supports and adapted to have garments draped thereover, and means movably connected with the hanger supports-for move-' -movement down onto the hanger supportsto hold the hangers between-said means andthe hanger supports, said last mentioned means being movable to form extensions of the hanger supports. y

In a garment carrying case including hingedlfy connected sections, a garment carrymg rame comprising spaced side arms lying in connectedlat their outer ends edly mounting the inner ends arms from one section means hin of the si e the side arms and disposed at an angle to said side arms with portions thereof extending to opposite sides of the lane of the side arms, a plurality of individ lial hangers engageable at their ends with the hanger supports and adapted to have garments dra ed thereover,and means connected with t e hanger supports for holding the hangers down onto the supports.

13. In a garment carrying case including 135 hingedly connected sections, a garment carer supports at and means movably.

substantially a common plane and hanger supports at rying frame comprising spaced side arms lying insubstantially a common plane and connected at their outer ends, hanger supports at the outer ends of the side arms and extending to opposite sides of the plane of the side arms, hangers engageable' at their. ends with the sup orts and adapted to have garments draped 'ereover, and means hingedly mounting the garment carrying frame from one of the sections for swinging movement to and from a position at which the plane of the side arms is substantially 'on the plane upon which the sections meet whereby the hanger supports project into both sections' when the case is closed.

14. In a garment carrying case including hingedly connected sections, .a garment carrying frame comprising spaced side arms. lying in substantially a common plane, hanger supports at the outerends of the side arms and rojecting on=opposite sides of. the plane of t e side arms, a plurality of hangers engageable at their ends with the suports, means hingedly connected with the hanger supports and adapted to swing down over the hangers in substantially parallelism with the hanger supports to confine the hangers between the hanger supports and said means, and means hmgedly mounting the garment carrying frame from one of the sections for swinging movement about an axis parallel to the hinged connection of the sections and for movement into substantial alignment with either section when the case is open. 15. In a hingedl connected sections, a garment car- 'rying rame comprising spaced side arms lying in substantiall a common plane, hanger supports at t e outer ends of the side arms and projecting. to opposite'sides of the plane of the side arms, individual hangers engageable at their ,endswith the garmentcarrying case including hanger supports, and means hingedly mounting the garment carrying frame in the case for swinging movement about an axis so located that the'han'ger supports and the hangers carried thereby extend into both sections when the case is close 16. In a garment carrying case including hingedly connected sections, a garment carrying frame mounted in the case for swinging movement and comprising, spaced si e arms lying in substantia ly a common plane, means connecting the outer free ends of the side arms, hanger supports projecting laterally from side of the plane of the side arms, and individual hangers engageable at their ends with the hanger supplort's so that garments draped over the angers assume positions substantially parallel with the plane of the side arms.

17. In a garment carrying case including the side arms to extend to one" ryin frame comprising spaced side arms ly-' ing 1n substantially a common plane, means connecting the outer ends of the side arms, means hingedly mounting the inner end of the side arms from one of the sections for swinging movement about an axis adjacent to and substantially parallel with the hinged connection of the sections, hanger supports carried by the outer end portions of the side arms and having parts extending substantially perpendicular to the plane of the side arms, and individual hangers readily removably supported on said hanger supports.

18. In a garment carrying case including hingedly connected sections, a garment carry ing frame, comprising a pair of substantially T shaped frame members, means connecting the frame members adjacent the heads of the T shaped frames, a plurality of individual garment hangers having their ends engageable with the heads of the T shaped frames, means for holding the garment hangers on said heads, and means hingedly mounting the T shaped frames for swinging movement into and out of alignment with either section when the case is open.

19. Ina garment carrying case, including hingedly connected sections, a garment supporting element in the case comprising side frames consisting of elongated bars and hanger supports angularly disposed with respect thereto, a cross piece connecting the side frames, means hingedly mounting the elongated bars at a point remote from the hanger supports from one of the sections, a plurality of individual garment hangers engageable at their ends with the hanger supports, and means for readily removably holding the garment hangers on the hanger supports.

20. In a garment carrying case including hingedly connected sections, a garment supporting element comprising spaced side frames, each having an elongated bar and a hanger support extending at an angle to the bar, means connecting the side frames with their elongated bars in substantially a common plane, means hingedly mounting the side frames for swinging movement within the case, a plurality of individual hangers having their end portions engageable with the hanger supports and means engageable over the hangers to confine the same between the hanger supports and said means.

21. In a garment carrying case, a movable garment supporting element comprising, spaced side arms, means connecting the outer ends of the side arms to form therewith a substantially U shaped open frame, means hingedly mounting the side arms from one of the sections so as to accommodate swinging movement of the frame into and out of alignment with either section when the case is open, a garment hanger carried by the frame and adapted to'have'a garment draped thereover, and means connecting the side arms for maintaining the garment in substantially the plane of the frame, said last mentioned means comprising abar adapted to span the distance between the side arms, means at one end. of the bar for swingingly connecting it with one side arm, means at the other end of the bar for removably connecting it with the other side arm, and yieldable means for preventing accidental detachment of said last mentioned connection.

22. In combination with a garment carrying case having a garment supporting frame movably mounted in the case and having spaced side arms, a garment retainin bar for holding garments carried by the rame substantially in the plane of the frame, said bar being of a length to substantially span the distance between the side arms of the frame, means hingedl connecting one end of the bar with one o the side arms, means for readily detachably connecting the opposite end of the bar with the other side arm, and ieldable means for preventing accidental etachment of said last mentione connection.

23. In a garment carrying case including hingedly connected sections, a garment supporting element comprising spaced elongated arms, transverse members carried by the outer ends of the arms and affording hanger supports, a cross bar connecting the elongated bars at their outer ends, means hingedly mounting the elongated bars at their inner ends, a plurality of individual garment hangers engageable at their ends with the hanger supports and adapted to have garments draped thereover, a curtain engageable over the hangers to protect the garments draped thereover, and means for connecting the opposite ends of the curtain with the side arms adjacent their hinged mounting so that the curtain retains the garments in substantially the plane of the side arms.

GEORGE HENRY WHEARY. 

